Can a brake caliper bleed nipple be retapped

[ANDREW 30 0]

I bought some mk4 rear calipers to replace my fooked rears, i've cleaned them right up and painted them.

Then ealier i thought i'd clean the odd bit of excess paint off, so i go to remove the bleed nipple but it was seized solid and stripped the thread from the bleed nipple as it was removed.

I'm guessing that being the bleed nipples are steel and the mk4 rear calipers are alloy the chances are the caliper thread is likely to be shagged.

So could the caliper be drilled and tapped to fit a bigger bleed nipple?

[carpy25 0]

you can but i wouldn't mess with it your life and others depend on it , pick up another one and try again , just my advice threads don't seal it anyway but if the seat angle of the bigger nipple and the calliper don't match or you damage the seat with he tap its scrap , pop down the scrapies and check nipples before you buy if they snap leave them on the car no charge

 

Rob

[The_Dude 0]

Bit of a hassle when you can get a new one for a couple of quid.

http://www.biggred.co.uk/nippleshop.html

[ANDREW 30 0]

I know i can get the bleed nipples cheap enough, i'm talking about the thread in the caliper that might also be damaged!

This has really left me in the cart as i'm surposed to be dropping my car to someone tommorrow to have new brake lines etc fitted next week.

I'm away working next week so i need to get this sorted asap, as i need the car back and MOTed for the following Monday so i can get to work! :cry:

[ANDREW 30 0]

Anyone else got any thoughts on this?

[dragon green 5]

You can re-tapp the caliper,as long as the new nipple has the same seat angle !

but i would advise getting a specialist to do it, or buy another caliper

[Jim 2]

As the others have said, get a new one.. can be got 2nd hand for like £25/side easily.

[Supercharged 2]

New caliper...

 

I'd never buy a second hand MK4 caliper either - they corrode and fail just as much as the older ones, buy new and paint before you install!

[Toad 0]

New caliper...

 

I'd never buy a second hand MK4 caliper either - they corrode and fail just as much as the older ones, buy new and paint before you install!

 

And grease the thread to prevent seizing?

[Supercharged 2]

And grease the thread to prevent seizing?

 

Aluminium paste :wink:

[Timbo 0]

I can't see how the MK4 ones will be quite as bad as the MK2/3 ones for corrosion since they're aluminium :shrug:.

[davidwort 0]

they seem to get better from mk2 to mk4 but all sieze eventually, having said that, my exchange mk3 recon ones from GSF have done 12 years trouble free.